LG Busted

FDA seizes $1.3 million in supplements marketed for bodybuilders from Brighton warehouse
by Geoff Larcom | The Ann Arbor News
Friday April 04, 2008, 9:05 PM
Federal agents seized more than $1.3 million in illegal dietary supplements from a Brighton business that markets products to bodybuilders, authorities announced Friday.

U.S. Marshals confiscated the items Wednesday at a warehouse of LG Sciences, LLC, located on Whitmore Lake Road, because the products contain unapproved food additives or dietary ingredients that violate the law, according to a statement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The products are labeled as dietary supplements, but are marketed for use by bodybuilders. Products seized were marketed and distributed online and in retail stores under the names Methyl 1-D, Methyl 1-D XL and Formadrol Extreme XL.

Methyl 1-D XL is pictured on the LG Sciences Web site as a bottle of capsules that increases strength and muscle mA$$. Comments on the site praise the company for the gains users experienced with the products.

The FDA said the seized products previously were tested and found to contain one or more unapproved food additives and/or dietary ingredients that had not been studied to ensure they wouldn't cause illness or injury.

People who have used the products should consult their doctor, the FDA said.

"Wednesday's action shows the FDA's commitment to protecting consumers from potentially harmful products," Margaret Glavin, the agency's A$$ociated commissioner of the Office of Regulatory Affairs, said in a prepared statement. Glavin could not be reached for comment Friday evening.

Ronald Berry, an attorney for LG Sciences, said Friday evening that all the company's products are legal, and the ingredients are safe for consumers. He called the FDA seizure "merely a preliminary step in determining compliance with food regulations."

"Although LG Sciences feels the temporary restraint of its product by the FDA is inappropriate, the company appreciates that the FDA wishes to protect the public," Berry said in a statement.

In March 2006, the FDA warned a company called Legal Gear - the predecessor to LG Sciences - to cease distribution of another product that was marketed as a dietary supplement but was actually an unapproved new drug containing synthetic steroids, the government's statement said.

U.S. Attorney Stephen Murphy, whose Detroit office secured the warrants for the seizure, said the civil case likely won't involve prosecuting individuals. He said the "FDA wanted to get these things before they went out to stores."

FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Kwisnek said in an e-mail that the FDA is continuing to investigate LG Sciences.